John Belushi & Dan Aykroyd Take Brian Wilson Surfing, 1976

Growing up, my favorite movie was The BluesBrothers. I watched all the time with — of all people — my mother, who would laugh whenever Aykroyd appeared. She would point at the TV and say to me, “You could do that.”

Some mothers want their sons to grow up to be president. Mine was aiming for Aykroyd. Reading the story of making The Blues Brothers in the excellent comedy issue of January’s Vanity Fair, I rediscovered my love for the film, and for the men behind it.